Why is oil heat cheaper than electric?

[brinett9 0]

Why is oil heat cheaper than electric?

 

How is it even conceivable that a community of one million homes could be more efficiently heated by one million separate oil burners than by one oil, gas, or coal burner generating electricty which is used to heat the million homes?

 

It completely defies the principle of economy of scale.

 

I suppose the answer has something to do with the versatility of electricity, that it has higher value because it can be used for so many different things. Heat generation must be about the most crude, low value use of electricity, but you have to pay the same rate per KWH regardless of how you're using it.

[supermike80 1,791]

Why is oil heat cheaper than electric?

 

How is it even conceivable that a community of one million homes could be more efficiently heated by one million separate oil burners than by one oil, gas, or coal burner generating electricty which is used to heat the million homes?

 

It completely defies the principle of economy of scale.

 

I suppose the answer has something to do with the versatility of electricity, that it has higher value because it can be used for so many different things. Heat generation must be about the most crude, low value use of electricity, but you have to pay the same rate per KWH regardless of how you're using it.

 

Many times the creation of electricity requires the use of oil resources. If it were all nuclear, I believe it would in fact be quite cheaper.

[brinett9 0]

Many times the creation of electricity requires the use of oil resources. If it were all nuclear, I believe it would in fact be quite cheaper.

My point is really that a large centralized generation plant should be able to use oil more efficiently than thousands of small ones.

 

Even if the centralized plant paid the same price for oil as the small ones, which it wouldn't, its economy of scale should prevail.

[G-Men (formerly Big Blue) 0]

It is all about the British Thermal Units (BTUs). This is a unit of measurement to heat one pound of 39 degree F water by one degree F.

 

One gallon of heating oil contains 139,000 BTUs. Cost = $2.10.

 

One Kilowatt/hr contains only 3412 BTUs. So to get the BTU equivalent of a gallon of oil, you must do the following: 139,000 BTU / 3412 BTU = 40.5, which means you must use 40.5 kilowatt/hrs. One kilowatt/hr is approximately $0.11 (varies slightly by region). $0.11 X 40.5 = $4.46 to get the same BTUs as one gallon of oil.

 

A typical home needs about 70,000,000 BTUs during a moderately cold winter. Therefore, we get

70,000,000 / 139,000 = 504 gallons of oil at ~$2.10 a gallon = $1058, while electricity in order to generate that same amount of heat would need 70,000,000 / 3412 (BTUs/kilowatt hour) = 20,515 kilowatts X $0.11 = $2256.

 

Electricy is roughly double the price of Oil!

[brinett9 0]

Electricy is roughly double the price of Oil!

Great numbers. Good job.

 

In this context my question boils down to why is the cost of the electricity (per KWH) so high?

 

You've shown, in detail and quite accurately, that electric heat is more expensive than oil heat.

 

I already knew that.

[moneyb 0]

Losses over distance. Electricity has some loss in transmission across power lines, in the transformer outside your house, the transformer furthur away, and finally in the transformer in your electrical heater.

 

That to me is a big reason not to purchase an electic lawnmower or car.

[G-Men (formerly Big Blue) 0]

Great numbers. Good job.

 

In this context my question boils down to why is the cost of the electricity (per KWH) so high?

 

You've shown, in detail and quite accurately, that electric heat is more expensive than oil heat.

 

I already knew that.

But I also tried to show that Electricity and a kilowatt hour just doesn't have anywhere near the amount of heat given off as a gallon of oil.

[Ravens 03 0]

What about delivery charges?????

[brinett9 0]

But I also tried to show that Electricity and a kilowatt hour just doesn't have anywhere near the amount of heat given off as a gallon of oil.

That's just a conversion of units of energy. A gallon of oil can produce more BTUs than a KWH of electricty. So what? That's just a unit conversion. A meter is much bigger than a foot too.

 

What makes BTU/gallon and BTU/KWH significant, what puts them on the same playing field, is factoring in $/gallon and $/KWH. These $ values are not physical contraints, they're economic conditions.

 

The cost per BTU, which you calculated, is what's important. My question is how is it that I can generate BTUs of heat more cost effectively with my little home oil unit than by using a large, centralized electrical plant to generate electricty, distribute this energy to many many homes, and then do a simple conversion of electricty to heat.

 

I understand that you calculated the cost of heat per BTU for oil and electricity and found the cost per BTU of electric heat is higher. That gets us to the beginning of this thread., having wasted much time converting measures of energy from one unit system to another.

[parrot 789]

That's just a conversion of units of energy. A gallon of oil can produce more BTUs than a KWH of electricty. So what? That's just a unit conversion. A meter is much bigger than a foot too.

 

The cost per BTU, which you calculated, is what's important. My question is how is it that I can generate BTUs of heat more cost effectively with my little home oil unit than by using a large, centralized electrical plant to generate electricty, distribute this energy to many many homes, and then do a simple conversion of electricty to heat.

 

I understand that you calculated the cost of heat per BTU for oil and electricity and found the cost per BTU of electric heat is higher. That gets us to the beginning of this thread., having wasted much time converting measures of energy from one unit system to another.

It seems to me it would have a lot to do with the conversion processes.

 

With an in home oil furnace you convert oil directly to heat, which it is well suited for.

 

In the alternative, you convert oil to heat to make electricity in a large central plant, then distribute the electricity across a wide network, then have to turn around and convert the electricity back into heat once it hits the home. My guess is that the losses from the various conversion processes, and distribution as already mentioned, probably outweigh the benefits of the scale.

[brinett9 0]

It seems to me it would have a lot to do with the conversion processes.

 

With an in home oil furnace you convert oil directly to heat, which it is well suited for.

 

In the alternative, you convert oil to heat to make electricity in a large central plant, then distribute the electricity across a wide network, then have to turn around and convert the electricity back into heat once it hits the home. My guess is that the losses from the conversion processes, and distribution as already mentioned, probably outweigh the benefits of the scale.

I think you're onto something here. There are distribution costs, though oil has distribution costs as well. The oil doesn't just appear in my tank by itself.

 

I still lean toward a "high value of electricity" theory based on its versatility. Heat being about the lowest grade of energy there is, heating your home with electricty may be like washing your car with vintage champagne.

 

The low value of heat energy is directly related to its easy creation directly from fossil fuels, the "direct conversion" that you mention.

[phillybear 366]

Pfft. Oil. Electricity.

 

I use vinegar and spit.

[brinett9 0]

I wonder if I could convert my flux capacitor to produce heat rather than warps in space-time.

[dcOne 2]

Oil is blacker than electricity.

[brinett9 0]

Oil is blacker than electricity.